The Smile Always Fades

19. Ready For Take-Off

I've been dedicating a few chapters to loyal fans. You've definitely been one of them! Thank you so much for voting and taking such an interest in the story!

"You'll be my maid of honor, right?"

The girls were in Anna's room, painting each other's nails. Cassy had a bright orange bottle of polish sitting next to her; she looked up at Anna with a surprised expression. "Whoa! Where did that one come from?"

"I don't know," Anna said, looking down at her carpet floor. She was a bit embarrassed that she asked such a random question. "I was just wondering."

"Well, sure I'll be you're maid of honor; as long as I agree with the guy you're marrying."

Anna smiled. "You'll tell me if you don't like him, right?"

Cassy gave Anna a flat stare and soon a grin played at the corners of her mouth. "Anna, when have I ever not told you who I don't like?" Both of the girls laughed and went on to talk about different qualities they wanted in their prince charmings.

"Oh, and just so you know Anna, you'd be an awesome choice for a maid of honor too."

"Thanks," she said humbly. "I'd be honored to be your maid of honor." Cassy made a face at Anna's cheesy comment and they both succumbed to giggle fits.

Bang bang bang. A muffled version of Jason's voice came through Anna's locked bedroom door. "Can you keep it down?" he yelled fiercely. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"

The girls shared a look and quietly continued laughing. "Aww, Cassy," Anna teasingly whispered. "Jason's trying to get his beauty sleep so that he can look like your prince charming tomorrow morning."

"Shut up," Cassy mortifyingly hissed. "Don't let him hear you!" Anna began to laugh maniacally and Cassy threw an over-sized, fluffy pillow at her face. "Good night, 'Annabell'."

Anna mockingly laughed and shot a glare at her best friend while sticking out her tongue defiantly. She hated it when Cassy called her that and she knew it, especially since "Annabell" wasn't even Anna's full name--it was just Anna. Anna got up and walked over to her light switch. "Good night, Cassy," she said, and flipped the switch, making the room go dark.

The next week and a half drug on for forever and sped by faster than Anna could blink. It went by slowly because of the disappearance of Bentley, but at the same time shot along quick because of all of the preparation for heading off to New York.

Anna was sitting at the airport now, waiting to board her flight. She'd already said all of her goodbyes to family and friends and now she was all alone with a Seventeen magazine--thanks to Sandra--and a half empty bottle of Dr. Pepper. She flipped through some of the pages of the magazine, but Anna's mind was focused on something else.

After the confrontation with Bentley, Anna never saw him show up to school again. He wasn't in math class, at lunch, in the library; Anna even scanned the parking lot to see if she could spot his car. That last one made her feel a bit like a stalker though, so she had set her sights on plan B: The Tobester.

"Toby, finally I found you!" He was with a couple other weird looking guys, hanging out by the dumpsters behind the school at lunch. Who ate their lunch next to trash? Ew.

"Oh, uh...hey Anna," Toby said a bit awkwardly while his pervert friends gave her the up and down look. She was officially grossed out now. "What can I do you for--do for you?!" His friends laughed and winked at him.

"First, we can walk away from your friends," she said loudly.

Toby straightened up and followed Anna once she started moving toward Baker High's baseball diamond.